Volunteer Sponsorship Director

THE NATIONAL WASP WWII MUSEUM

Avenger Field Centennial — 100 Years, 2029

Volunteer Sponsorship Director

Help build the world’s largest celebration of women in aviation.

Organization: The National WASP WWII Museum — Sweetwater, Texas (501(c)(3) nonprofit)

Location: Remote, with optional travel to Sweetwater, TX for key events

Reports to: Centennial Project Director

Commitment: 5–10 hours per week · Through spring 2029, reviewed annually

Start: Immediately — this is the highest-priority open seat on the Centennial team

Compensation: Unpaid volunteer leadership role

The Opportunity

In 1943, young women arrived by train in Sweetwater, Texas to fly for their country. More than 1,000 of them earned their silver wings at Avenger Field as Women Airforce Service Pilots — the first women in American history to fly military aircraft. They ferried bombers, towed live-fire targets, and tested aircraft other pilots refused. Thirty-eight of them died serving a country that would not call them veterans for another 33 years.

In 2029, Avenger Field turns 100. The National WASP WWII Museum is marking that century with the largest celebration of women in aviation ever held — growing our annual fly-in from roughly 750 attendees into a 20,000-attendee national air show and centennial festival.

Events at that scale are funded, not wished into being. We are looking for a volunteer Sponsorship Director to own that work: to build the corporate sponsorship program from a blank page into the revenue engine behind a historic event.

This is not an envelope-stuffing volunteer role. It is a director-level seat on the Centennial execution team, with real ownership, real authority, and a three-year runway to build something that will outlast all of us.

What You’ll Own

You will lead corporate sponsorship for the Centennial — strategy through signature through fulfillment.

Strategy and packaging

• Build the sponsorship strategy, tier structure, and pricing for the 2029 Centennial and the 2028 preview fly-in
• Develop the sponsorship prospectus and pitch materials, working with our Marketing & Communications Director on brand and design
• Define sponsor benefits that are genuinely deliverable — activation space, naming rights, hospitality, STEM program sponsorship, media and signage

Pipeline and outreach

• Research and qualify corporate prospects across aerospace and defense, avionics, technology, energy, banking, insurance, and regional Texas industry
• Open and run outreach: identify decision-makers, secure meetings, present, follow up, and close
• Leverage the Centennial Advisory Committee — a group of nationally recognized aviation leaders — for warm introductions
• Maintain a clean, shared pipeline so leadership can see status and forecast at any time

Relationships and delivery

• Negotiate and document sponsorship agreements in coordination with museum leadership
• Steward sponsors from first conversation through post-event reporting — renewal starts on day one
• Coordinate with the Grants & Fundraising Director so corporate, foundation, and major-donor efforts complement rather than collide
• Report progress, risks, and forecasts to the Executive Leadership Team
• Recruit and lead a small sponsorship support team as the program grows

Who We’re Looking For

We are not looking for a perfect résumé. We are looking for someone who is comfortable asking for six-figure commitments, and who will keep asking. Experience in any of the following is useful:

• Corporate sponsorship, partnership sales, or business development
• Nonprofit development, major gifts, or capital campaign work
• Event, sports, festival, or air show sponsorship
• B2B sales, account management, or marketing partnerships
• Aerospace, defense, aviation, or technology industry relationships
• Proposal writing, contract negotiation, or CRM and pipeline discipline

What matters most: initiative, follow-through, comfort with rejection, and belief in what this event stands for. If you have sold sponsorship before, you already know whether this is your kind of challenge.

Time Commitment

Roughly 5–10 hours per week, self-scheduled. Most of the work is calls, correspondence, and proposal development on your own clock. The commitment intensifies ahead of the 2028 preview fly-in and the 2029 event itself.

The Centennial team meets by video and the work can be fully remote. Travel to Sweetwater is welcomed but never required — though we hope you will stand on the ramp in 2029 and see what you built.

What You’ll Gain

• A director-level title and a documented body of work on a nationally visible event
• Direct access to aviation industry executives, airport authorities, elected officials, and nonprofit leaders
• Mentorship from the Centennial Project Director and the Executive Leadership Team
• Recognition in Centennial materials, and a seat at the table for a historic milestone in aviation
• A portfolio piece very few sponsorship professionals will ever be able to claim

We take seriously that your time is a gift. Volunteering here should be an investment in your future as much as ours.

How to Apply

Send a brief note about yourself — your background, why this event matters to you, and any sponsorship or fundraising work you are proud of. A formal résumé is welcome but not required.

Contact: Lori Evans, Centennial Project Director - lorievans@waspmuseum.org

Applications are reviewed as they arrive; we will begin conversations immediately.

The National WASP WWII Museum preserves the legacy of the Women Airforce Service Pilots and inspires the next generation of women in aviation.